Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Christian theologian as well as a Augustinian monk, his teachings inspired the 'Protestant Reformation'

He also translated the Bible to German while adding several principles to the art of translating the Bible to make the translations more exact.

He wrote 'hymms' that led to the development of congregational singing found in the church today.

Being a Monk, he married a former nun, Katharina Von Bora, which has led to the tradition, in several Christian religions, of pastor, minister marriage.

His in-depth study of the Scriptures led him to the understanding that the Church had lost sight of several 'central truths'. This study led him to the pinnacle of his belief's which on Halloween 1517 he nailed his findings, the '95 theses', to the door of the Wittenberg Church.

Some of these are; (in translated English)

"When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."

"As long as hatred of self abides (i.e. true inward repentance) the penalty of sin abides, viz., until we enter the kingdom of heaven."

"The pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God; or, at most, he can remit it in cases reserved to his discretion. Except for these cases, the guilt remains untouched."

"There seems to be the same difference between hell, purgatory, and heaven as between despair, uncertainty, and assurance."

"There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the purgatory immediately the money clinks in the bottom of the chest."

"It is certainly possible that when the money clinks in the bottom of the chest avarice and greed increase; but when the church offers intercession, all depends in the will of God."

"All those who believe themselves certain of their own salvation by means of letters of indulgence, will be eternally damned, together with their teachers."

"Christians should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if he purchases indulgences."

What is seen in the '95' is that the flesh is weak and that the church through mistranslating the Bible, had begun to put the Pope, Cardinal's and Priest's on a level with the Lord GOD.

They had begun to promise absolution to those that indulged in the wants or needs of these leaders with property, gold and other wealth.

He was not the only one through this now growing exacting translation of the Bible to know the true meaning of pillar's of righteousness written in the Bible, but he was the first to push this knowledge on the Church.

The extractions from the 95 theses above prove the point that Martin Luther was objecting to his own understanding of one individual's preaching and NOT to the doctrine of the Catholic Church. His understanding of indulgences was so flawed as to be ridiculous if it hadn't put so many souls in eternal danger. As it was, his teachings were despicable especially as people to this day seem to think that he was objecting to real teachings of the Catholic Church. It was tragic then, and after four centuries the tragedy continues to deepen. Indulgences then, as now, have nothing whatsoever to do with forgiveness of sin.

Some Church leaders had become corrupt. Pope Alexander VI, for example, admitted that he had fathered several children, also, many Popes were pursuing worldly affairs. Priests and monks were so poorly educated that they could scarcely read. Others broke their vows by marrying, gambling and drinking to excess.
Luther decided to take a public stand about reformation because of the actions of a friar named Johann Tetzel.

Tetzel

was raising money to rebuild St. Peter's cathedral by selling indulgences. An indulgence was a pardon. It released a sinner from the penalty that a priest imposed for sins. Indulgences were not supposed to affect God's right to judge. But Tetzel

gave people the impression that by buying indulgences, they could buy their way to heaven.

All of the above is what is commonly put in books these days, the reality is quite different. Indeed there was more than a little ignorance on the part of the clergy, monks, and friars, unfortunately, Martin Luther was one of them. When he issued his 95 Theses it was a collection of Luther's objections; however, they are pretty equally ignorant of the Catholic Church. Some of them called for things that were already Church doctrine, others were so off the wall as to be ludicrous. Martin, himself, was an example of what needed to be reformed in the Church, he voluntarily took lifelong vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, but then left his friary without even trying to seek permission, and proceeded to lead a sinful life of drunken debauchery. Fr. Johann Tetzel

did none of the things that Martin Luther said that he did. One could always earn an indulgence for the three works of penance: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

Due to the stink that Martin Luther raised, you can no longer get one for almsgiving.

Indulgences are a release from the temporal punishment due for already forgiven sin, and are still regularly issued. Bottom line? Martin Luther never wanted to "reform" the Church. The Bishops and the Pope repeatedly

offered him all kinds of concessions including repeated offers to sit down and talk with him. He pompously refused to talk with them, and made a big deal out of burning their gracious invitations. Martin Luther was never serious, and no more intended Christianity than the man in the moon. From his own pen he wrote that man should sin greatly, Martin Luther threw books out of the Bible, and rewrote the ones that remained.

Martin Luther was wanted by the church for putting up his ideas which are called the 95 theses. Also, for going against the church and its Catholics and creating his own religion called Lutheranism.

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from Radio Replies, by Fathers Rumble and Carty, 1942

221 The power of Romanism was shattered by Martin Luther, of immortal memory.

Martin Luther is undoubtedly an outstanding figure in history. But the immortal memory of Luther will become less and less pleasant as the facts concerning him become known. Those who idealize Luther can do so only by ignoring an immense amount of inconvenient information. He was a priest of the Catholic Church, but one who was not faithful to his obligations even as a Christian. On his own admissions he was a victim of both immorality and drunkenness; and he was the most intolerant of men. Far from granting liberty of conscience, he refused to allow anyone to think differently from himself, and coolly said, "Whoever teaches otherwise than I teach is a child of hell."

265. Did not Luther give ninety reasons for leaving the Catholic Church?

He gave many excuses, but no real reasons. Before he left the Church, he was a member of a religious order, vowed for the love of Christ to poverty, chastity, and obedience. He broke all three vows. Vices, whether intellectual or moral, are excuses, not reasons, for leaving the Church.

269. Do you know of any good in Luther?

Intellectually, not much. He declared that reason was of the devil, and that the Christian must regard it as his greatest enemy. Morally, less still. St. Paul says that those who are Christ's have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences. (Gal. V., 24.) That Luther indulged his vices and concupiscences is clear from his writings, where he gives disgraceful descriptions of his own indulgence in everything passionate. His diaries record shocking excesses of sensuality, which could not be printed in any decent book to-day. A true Apostle of Christ does not give vent to such expressions as, "To be continent and chaste is not in me," or, "Why do I sit soaked in wine." I do not say these things merely to detract from the memory of Luther. But it is not right that people should be duped by the thought that Luther was a well-balanced and saintly reformer. He was not entirely devoid of good qualities. He was endowed with a certain kindness and generosity. But this does not compensate for his vices. He should have controlled his sentimentality and emotional nature in the light of Christian principles. He did not, but gave free rein to his lower passions, calmly saying that a man has to do so, and will not be responsible for such conduct.

The northern German princes pretty much went with their long festering unhappiness with Rome and having to send money to Rome, and support the church. Martin Luther played up a German "nationalism" (in quotes, because Germany was not yet a nation!) against Rome.

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from History of the Catholic Church from the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium, by James Hitchcock, Imprimatur: The Most Reverend Edward Rice, © 2012 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco

Ultimately, the success or failure of the Reformation in particular areas was due almost entirely to the policies of its rulers. From the emperor to town councils, responses to the Reformation were determined by a complex interplay of secular interests and religious belief.

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The Reformation succeeded mainly in northern Europe, in the territories that had not been part of the Roman Empire. Luther quite deliberately appealed to the German resentment of what was considered a Roman sense of superiority, a division that seemed almost to replay the ancient Roman-barbarian conflict. Though Protestantism made some inroads into Eastern Europe, it did not become the dominate cultural influence there.